Transfer 101

Educators in Texas often brag about the solid success rates of students who transfer from a community college to a four-year institution.

What they don’t brag about is how low those transfer rates are to start with.

According to one long-term U.S. Education Department study, 37 percent of traditional-age students who started at a community college ended up transferring to a four-year university. Of those who transferred, 60 percent earned a bachelor’s degree.

In an effort to improve those rates and to clarify the labyrinthine process of transferring credits, the University of Texas System, Texas A&M System and 50 community colleges have teamed up to create www.Transfer101.org, a Web site with detailed information on how to transfer from community college to UT and A&M institutions.

A link to the site will appear on the community colleges Web sites, and updates will be sent out through social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

“We know one of the challenges to getting more students to transfer is in extending to them reliable information in an easily accessible and digestible format – and this new Web site addresses that,” said Martha Ellis, the UT System’s associate vice chancellor for community college partnerships. “It’s all about demystifying the process.”